The Natural Language Processing Track

The Natural Language Processing (NLP) track is intended for students who wish to gain expertise in NLP technologies and applications. NLP technologies are of central importance in automating the analysis of text and speech databases and in enabling man-machine interactions through natural language. This track will help you develop leading edge knowledge of these technologies.

1. Overall Requirements

Students must complete at least a total of 30 graduate credits.

1. Fulfill the 12-credit core requirement
2. COMS W4701 is a prerequisite for this track
3. 3 courses (9 credits) are required by the track: COMS W4705 (NLP), COMS W4706 (Spoken Language Processing), and COMS E6998 (Advanced NLP Topics)
4. 2 elective courses (6 credits) selected from the list of section 4; at least one of these courses must be a 6000-level CS course
5. 1 general elective graduate CS course (3 credits) at 4000 level or above
6. Students using Special Considerations to credit previous courses in fulfilling core or track requirements may complete the 30 graduate credits by expanding their electives beyond the base track requirements above

For the 12-credit core requirement, students take four courses from the following six:


COMS W4115 Programming Languages & Translators

COMS W4118 Operating Systems 1

COMS W4156 Advanced Software Engineering

COMS W4231 Analysis of Algorithms 1

COMS W4701 Artificial Intelligence

CSEE  W4824 Computer Architecture


2. Pre-requisites

Candidates must complete the core course COMS-W4701 or equivalent courses, to develop a fundamental understanding of AI.

3. Required Track Courses

Candidates are required to complete the following three courses:


Course ID	Title	Fall 2008**	Spring 2008
COMS-W4705	Natural Language Processing	Offered
COMS-W4706	Spoken Language Processing		Offered
COM-E6998	Topic courses that focus on NLP		Offered


Students who have completed equivalent courses with grades of at least 3.0 may apply these courses to satisfy these requirements and devote more credits to pursue elective courses.

4. Elective Track Courses

Candidates are required to complete two (2) courses out of the following list*; at least one course must be a 6000-level CS course.
Since other departments vary their offerings considerably from year to year, it is possible to count such courses toward the M.S. degree; please propose courses you think might be suitable to the track advisor.



Course ID	Title	Fall 2008**	Spring 2008
COMS-W4170	User Interface Design	Offered
COMS-W4172	3D User Interfaces		Offered
COMS-W4252	Introduction to Computational Learning Theory	Offered
COMS-W4771	Machine Learning		Offered
COMS-E6901	Projects in Computer Science	Offered	Offered
COMS-E6998	Search Engine Technology
COMS-E6998	Network Theory		Offered
SIEO-4150	Probability and Statistics		Offered
ELEN-4810	Digital Signal Processing
ELEN-6829	Speech/Audio Processing-Recognition
PSYC-G4232	Production and Perception of Language
PSYC-G4275	Contemporary Topics in Language and Communication
PSYC-G4205	Models of Cognition
PSYC-G4470	Psychology and Neuropsychology of Language
PSYC-G6006	Introduction to Statistical Modeling in Psychology	Offered

5. General Electives

Candidates are required to complete at least one Columbia graduate course, approved by the Track Advisor.

6. Contact

Please direct all questions concerning the NLP Track to Prof. .

      7. Graduation

       Candidates preparing for graduation should submit a completed application for degree to the Registrar's Office and        submit a track graduation form to C.S. Student Services (an example of a completed form is available here).

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*The list of electives may be updated to reflect changes in the schedule of course offerings.

**Please note that Fall 08 course offerings are listed on a provisional basis only and may change from what is listed here.

Last updated 3/13/2008.